Bongi Mbonambi and Boeta Chamberlain aren’t fit, but Curwin Bosch has been cleared for take-off in a 28-man Sharks squad travelling to London for a Champions Cup rematch with Harlequins on Saturday.
Director of rugby Neil Powell has left Mbonambi and Chamberlain in Durban after they were injured in a bonus-point win against Bordeaux last week.
Bosch, a late withdrawal from that game, has been passed fit and is featured among a dominant group that beat Bordeaux to book a spot in the last 16 of the competition.
Also included in the travel group are wing Thaakir Abrahams, scrumhalf Grant Williams, hooker Fez Mbatha, prop Hanru Jacobs and lock Reniel Hugo.
ALSO: Steyn boards plane with Bulls
The Sharks and Harlequins met in early December at Kings Park in the opening round of the Champions Cup, with the Durbanites winning 39-31.
Quins are seventh in Pool A with a solitary victory to date, defeating Racing 92 14-10 in round two, but losing to the same French side 30-29 over the last weekend.
“There’s still a long way to go in this competition, but our current focus is on Harlequins in London, where we know the conditions will be different to what we played in against Bordeaux,” Powell said.
“We want to be successful in this tournament and see how far we can go and give ourselves the best opportunity to try and get into the final. But our primary focus is on this Harlequins game, hopefully it’s a good outing for us and that we can get some more points to secure a home knock-out game at Kings Park.”
Our 28 man touring squad for the #HeinekenChampionsCup and Vodacom #URC matches ?
?: https://t.co/8txL0HmZpv #FearTheFin pic.twitter.com/3Fnjt3uGHn
— The Sharks (@SharksRugby) January 17, 2023
Photo: Gerhard Duraan/BackpagePix